Custom «Global Warming» Essay Paper Sample

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to deliver this speech on global warming. I would like to appreciate all of you for giving me this opportunity and by becoming my audience. It is very obvious that global temperatures have risen. The earth is getting hotter and hotter by the day. In the last one century, earth's temperature increased by one degree Celsius. Latest reports by United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) on global warming forecast that temperatures are likely to rise by two to six degrees Celsius by the end of this century. I am deeply disturbed by the grave effects of global warming which are staring at us.

The effects of such changes are best demonstrated by the response of a human body to an increase in temperature as little as one degree Celsius. Those of you who have knowledge of human health know exactly what I am talking about; you will not like it. It is because of these dire consequences that I am going to expound on the facts about global warming. I strongly believe that we must have a deeper understanding of environmental issues as matters of life and death. There is no doubt that each one of us needs good air to breath and clean water to drink. We cannot survive without them. That is why environmental concerns are not alien ideas.

The undesirable increase in earth surface temperatures can be attributed to the existence of greenhouse gases on the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and water vapor are major components of greenhouse gases. Basically, temperature goes up because energy from the sun gets trapped in the atmosphere. As an illustration, imagine a plastic container which is put outside on a hot sunny day. Inside, the container will be hotter than if it was not open. The container becomes a green house. The green house effect is such not bad as you may think. Many individuals and organizations, which I guess most of you have been involved with, have amplified the negative side of greenhouse effect. This effect provides favorable temperature for most living things. The earth does not freeze at night or burn during the day because there is a layer of gases to filter the heat and light (Silver 23). However, the ugly side of it, which I know we would like to hear about today, is the rising of earth's surface temperatures.

As I have mentioned, greenhouse gases trap the heat and light from the sun. It is therefore clear that too much of these gases are going to raise the temperatures beyond unprecedented levels. I can see some of you raising your eyebrows. The threat of high temperatures is real. Either you are anxious or not, it is important that we lay down these facts clearly today. It is going to be easier for us to forge our way forward by having an unambiguous comprehension of the status quo.

The far reaching effects of global warming go down to environmental degradation. Rising sea levels is an imminent impact of global warming. It emanates from escalating earth surface temperatures which causes sea ice in the Arctic to melt. The higher the temperatures rise, the faster the ice melts and the higher the sea levels grow. The threat is therefore posed to plants and animals living in the water masses and those around them. Floods are destroying shelters as well as sweeping away food crops in low land areas.

Another effect of global warming which I must talk about is the threat of eliminating algae. You should be sure that the sea foods we are all running to because of the advice by nutritionists are soon going to be a thing of the past. The primary food producer of the sea, algae, is continually reduced by warm water (Cheel 22). Other dependants in the food chain including us are going to have to do without it. This is unfortunate.

From the offshore, we have forests which are under threat from human activity combined with global warming. The rise in earth's surface temperatures is scorching the leaves making it easy for wild fire to start and spread. Just to give you a glimpse of what this means, it will take 300 years to recover an ecosystem destroyed by fire. Take for instance, as a result of the latest fires in Australia; we are not going to see that ecosystem again unless some of you are going to live for the next three hundred years and more (Minshall, Brock and Var-ley 707).

The industrial developments realized recently through sophisticated mechanization and automation is a major source of the suicidal greenhouse gases. Look, you want to utilize and use high-tech products at the expense of burning the earth. A lot of energy is being used in industries (Barker, Ekins and Johnstone 121). Whenever fossil fuels are burnt to supply energy, a substantial amount of petroleum waste is emitted to the environment. Out of these wastes, I am particularly concerned with carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.

Every time we talk about burning of fuel to produce energy we think of the mainstream large industries. We are wrong. Let me ask you one question which I actually do not require an immediate answer. How did you get here? Those of us who came by public means did so because we do not have our own cars or we have but it is in the garage for servicing. If all of us were in a position of owning our own cars, we would accept to pay the price of traffic jam than to safe our chocking environment. We are burning our beautiful earth! (Suzuki 2008).

It is out of these ugly facts that various governments and organizations have come up with policies of curbing further damage to the environment let alone restoring it. The most pronounced one is the adoption of Kyoto Protocol. Leaders in the political front must come on board to ensure successful ratification and implementation of such policies (Paterson 134). On the other hand, us the citizens, I mean you and I must operate in a full swing to ensure the rescue of our land. Since we cannot stop running our industries for fear of emitting greenhouse gases, we should come up with ways of offsetting such emissions. Forests, for that matter play a major role in offsetting these gases. They are usually referred to as carbon sinks. We therefore need to invest our efforts and resources on tree planting initiatives. This can be done by institutions, governments, corporations and most importantly individuals. This is the time for us to take action and boost the initiatives that will finally make a difference in our lives.

To conclude, allow me to give you a short story I once heard my friend talk about. There was a little girl standing by the sea shore. As she marveled at the beauty of the nature, she was totally displeased by the fish swept away by sea tides. She could not continue to see the innocent creatures die just because of the wild waters. The little girl dedicated herself to return the desperate fish to the sea. A young man passed by and mocked the girl that her efforts were of no consequence as compared to the sea creatures experiencing similar cruelty all over the world. In a little and stern voice she said, "But things are right on my side. I am worried about you." I wish that all of us had such a heart as of this little angel. God bless you, good day and let us stop burning our world. Let's save our planet.